Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[katev]

A recent rehab. May still do more. Tagged this as a "destroyed girl" a while back. Had the worst piping issues I have dealt with. Filled them with puff paint and then covered with Edgekote. She will never look newish but she has a lot of character. Large plaza bag. nyone have a remedy for elephant skin like she has on the front? TIA.

She looks great! I don't know of any way to deal with the wrinkles...but to me, they're part of her character.

This looks great! I have the same bag but in black also with very similar piping issues. I have worked on it for a long time but never been entirely satisfied. The piping damage on mine is in the same place as yours but also more on the flap so very visible. I love how the piping has aged to a different color on yours. Great patina! Don't worry about the wrinkles too much.

I agree that you did a great job with a seriously damaged bag, she looks beautiful again!

FYI, below are pics of a mahogany Patricia's Legacy bag that I picked up for only $4.50, the piping and stitching and leather were ripped along the back of the flap and it had a serious stain with damage to the finish on the front.

I took it to a shoe and luggage repair shop and had the piping and ripping problems repaired and the stain repaired and spot-dyed. It only cost $28 and it came out great. I don't often take bags in for professional repair but this bag was in overall good condition and my initial cost was so low that I thought that it was worth it. I still do!

The second link is in the same thread and it is the rehab of a British Tan Patricia that had elephant skin and I used Emu oil on and I think that it helped a lot. Didn't completely eliminate the wrinkles but made them look better IMO.

https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/a-tale-of-2-patricias-double-rehab-reveal.765238/#post-22491820

https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/a-tale-of-2-patricias-double-rehab-reveal.765238/#post-22491948

 

[Bucketbagger]

I agree that you did a great job with a seriously damaged bag, she looks beautiful again!

FYI, below are pics of a mahogany Patricia's Legacy bag that I picked up for only $4.50, the piping and stitching and leather were ripped along the back of the flap and it had a serious stain with damage to the finish on the front.

I took it to a shoe and luggage repair shop and had the piping and ripping problems repaired and the stain repaired and spot-dyed. It only cost $28 and it came out great. I don't often take bags in for professional repair but this bag was in overall good condition and my initial cost was so low that I thought that it was worth it. I still do!

The second link is in the same thread and it is the rehab of a British Tan Patricia that had elephant skin and I used Emu oil on and I think that it helped a lot. Didn't completely eliminate the wrinkles but made them look better IMO.

https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/a-tale-of-2-patricias-double-rehab-reveal.765238/#post-22491820

https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/a-tale-of-2-patricias-double-rehab-reveal.765238/#post-22491948

Thank you all for the kind comments and encouragement. Katev, I also love patricias and have two. One had a similar tear but I fixed it myself with a needle and thread.

 

[whateve]

View attachment 3705773 View attachment 3705774
here. for some reason the forum won't process the pictures of the other two corners, but they look pretty much the same as these two. I did acquire it as a used item but it was barely worn and i've used it for maybe three months in total of this year since i switch bags often.

I think that shows normal corner wear. I think it is somewhat preventable if you condition the leather often, especially with something that protects like Blackrock Leather n Rich. I don't know if Blackrock will be enough in this case to hide the damage. If it isn't, I would do one of these things: get a sample bottle of Leather Refinisher from Wood n Stuff http://www.wood-n-stuff.com/leatheraid.html and apply thinly to the damage, or get a bottle of fabric puff paint and apply it thinly to the damage, spreading it on, on get a bottle of acrylic craft paint, mix with conditioner, and then paint that on. All of these will work well. Since it is black, you shouldn't have too much trouble with the colorants not matching. Just make sure to use the minimum amount that will work. Let whatever treatment you use sit for several days before you condition, as conditioning may remove some of it. After several days, condition your entire bag, and condition it every month thereafter. Whatever conditioner you use, make sure you put it on thinly and wipe off the excess, as you don't want it to get stuck in the dips in the pebbling.

 

[Lake Effect]

So I last fall I was in the mood for a vintage bag rehab projectin a neutral color that needs a good cleaning. I fell in love with a beat up Pocket bag ( I mistook it for a Rambler) but it was around $75 at that! So I settled for a stained beat up City bag for $28 with shipping that looked like a cat had scratched the front of it.

 

[Lake Effect]

So it got a 20 minute scrub (with a tooth brush) in warm water in my kitchen sink with a 1/4 cup of Lexol cleaner followed by a 20 minute warm water soak / rinse. I let it sit in the sink for a bit to let the excess water run off. As it was drying over 2 or so days, I gave it about 3 or 4 applications of Leather Therapy. When it was completely dry I gave it an application of Obenauf's Oil. 24 hours after that it gotcan applicagion of Black Rock. Then a buff, buff, buff!. Alot of the darker stains came lightened to where they blend with the patina.

 

[Lake Effect]

It taught me not to get overambititous lol. And that I serious thing for anything in British Tan. Or saddle, tabac, etc. Love that rehabbed patina.

 

[iudecis]

I think that shows normal corner wear. I think it is somewhat preventable if you condition the leather often, especially with something that protects like Blackrock Leather n Rich. I don't know if Blackrock will be enough in this case to hide the damage. If it isn't, I would do one of these things: get a sample bottle of Leather Refinisher from Wood n Stuff http://www.wood-n-stuff.com/leatheraid.html and apply thinly to the damage, or get a bottle of fabric puff paint and apply it thinly to the damage, spreading it on, on get a bottle of acrylic craft paint, mix with conditioner, and then paint that on. All of these will work well. Since it is black, you shouldn't have too much trouble with the colorants not matching. Just make sure to use the minimum amount that will work. Let whatever treatment you use sit for several days before you condition, as conditioning may remove some of it. After several days, condition your entire bag, and condition it every month thereafter. Whatever conditioner you use, make sure you put it on thinly and wipe off the excess, as you don't want it to get stuck in the dips in the pebbling.

that's really good advice, thanks so much!

 

[Lake Effect]

So it got a 20 minute scrub (with a tooth brush) in warm water in my kitchen sink with a 1/4 cup of Lexol cleaner followed by a 20 minute warm water soak / rinse. I let it sit in the sink for a bit to let the excess water run off. As it was drying over 2 or so days, I gave it about 3 or 4 applications of Leather Therapy. When it was completely dry I gave it an application of Obenauf's Oil. 24 hours after that it gotcan applicagion of Black Rock. Then a buff, buff, buff!View attachment 3705977View attachment 3705978. Alot of the darker stains came lightened to where they blend with the patina.

So it got a 20 minute scrub (with a tooth brush) in warm water in my kitchen sink with a 1/4 cup of Lexol cleaner followed by a 20 minute warm water soak / rinse. I let it sit in the sink for a bit to let the excess water run off. As it was drying over 2 or so days, I gave it about 3 or 4 applications of Leather Therapy. When it was completely dry I gave it an application of Obenauf's Oil. 24 hours after that it gotcan applicagion of Black Rock. Then a buff, buff, buff!View attachment 3705977View attachment 3705978. Alot of the darker stains came lightened to where they blend with the patina.

Thanks for not reporting embarrassing typos.

 

[Belicious]

So it got a 20 minute scrub (with a tooth brush) in warm water in my kitchen sink with a 1/4 cup of Lexol cleaner followed by a 20 minute warm water soak / rinse. I let it sit in the sink for a bit to let the excess water run off. As it was drying over 2 or so days, I gave it about 3 or 4 applications of Leather Therapy. When it was completely dry I gave it an application of Obenauf's Oil. 24 hours after that it gotcan applicagion of Black Rock. Then a buff, buff, buff!View attachment 3705977View attachment 3705978. Alot of the darker stains came lightened to where they blend with the patina.

It's a coincidence that I am re-rehabbing the same bag! I first washed it a while ago, a year or 2, and there was a stain that wouldn't come out. I covered it with paint but wasn't able to get it to blend right and I hated how it turned out. So I decided to have another shot at it this week, starting with stripping off the old paint. I tried a bunch of things on the stain, none of which did anything but something did lighten the leather all around it and make it look worse. The thing that brought back most of the color to the area was Obenauf's oil. Now it does look much nicer overall, and darker, like you said it helps blend any stains in. But I'm thinking it might do with another coat of Obenauf's to darken the bleached out area.

Anyway, I have a few bags coming from Ebay this week that need some pretty hefty TLC so I'm going to have some fun.

 

[Lake Effect]

It's a coincidence that I am re-rehabbing the same bag! I first washed it a while ago, a year or 2, and there was a stain that wouldn't come out. I covered it with paint but wasn't able to get it to blend right and I hated how it turned out. So I decided to have another shot at it this week, starting with stripping off the old paint. I tried a bunch of things on the stain, none of which did anything but something did lighten the leather all around it and make it look worse. The thing that brought back most of the color to the area was Obenauf's oil. Now it does look much nicer overall, and darker, like you said it helps blend any stains in. But I'm thinking it might do with another coat of Obenauf's to darken the bleached out area.

Anyway, I have a few bags coming from Ebay this week that need some pretty hefty TLC so I'm going to have some fun.

Honest to goodness , I feel like I have seen several City bags showing the same wear, scratches and stains on the fold of the flap as my bag.
Waiting for bags to arrive is fun! Enjoy.

 

[Lake Effect]

A recent rehab. May still do more. Tagged this as a "destroyed girl" a while back. Had the worst piping issues I have dealt with. Filled them with puff paint and then covered with Edgekote. She will never look newish but she has a lot of character. Large plaza bag. nyone have a remedy for elephant skin like she has on the front? TIA.

A little late on this but your work is amazing. I have classic hobo that got inadvertently dragged and has a small little area to repair. I just wish my work life was not so busy. It is interfering with my rehabbing!

 

[Tosa22]

A recent rehab. May still do more. Tagged this as a "destroyed girl" a while back. Had the worst piping issues I have dealt with. Filled them with puff paint and then covered with Edgekote. She will never look newish but she has a lot of character. Large plaza bag. nyone have a remedy for elephant skin like she has on the front? TIA.

Amazing! I would not even tried to rehab. You did a wonderful job!

 

[Bucketbagger]

Amazing! I would not even tried to rehab. You did a wonderful job!

Thanks all. The NYC Stewardess I am rehabbing now is looking good, although she is a thirsty devil. She still has piping issues to attack. her original state is below

 

[Belicious]

Thanks all. The NYC Stewardess I am rehabbing now is looking good, although she is a thirsty devil. She still has piping issues to attack. her original state is bel

What are you going to do to the strap damage? I find that kind of repair difficult. Sometimes I have been able to glue it successfully, sometimes it won't hold. On some bags I have just left it if there is only one crack. I have also tried patching over it and that turned out okay. I always wonder why that happens to old bags.

 

[katev]

Thanks all. The NYC Stewardess I am rehabbing now is looking good, although she is a thirsty devil. She still has piping issues to attack...

What are you going to do to the strap damage? I find that kind of repair difficult. Sometimes I have been able to glue it successfully, sometimes it won't hold. On some bags I have just left it if there is only one crack. I have also tried patching over it and that turned out okay. I always wonder why that happens to old bags.

I love Stewardess bags and tan is the prettiest color, good luck! I am not very good with piping damage and when working on a bag with those kinds of cracks, the best I could ever do was use leather glue to try and stabilize it and then touch up with paint to camouflage it a bit. I will be interested to see what works best for you.

But when I have encountered really dry bags that suck up the conditioner and still seem dry, I have found that filtered 100% emu oil works well to moisturize the bag. Some people like mink oil and neatsfoot, but I haven't tried those.